What Happens When You Assume
by TheLonelyQuartet
Summary: The Straw Hats are overjoyed to finally meet Luffy's elusive brother Sabo. When they finally lay eyes on him however, they realise that assumptions are best to be avoided when it comes to the D. Family.


The group stared.

They blinked, and stared some more.

…Nope, still wasn't registering.

Ace, Sabo and Luffy stared back. Luffy still with his legs and arms wrapped around Sabo from when he had jumped the man the moment he stepped into Luffy's line of sight. Usopp coughed awkwardly, suddenly wondering if they should be watching what looks to be a private moment. But Luffy had been the one to enthusiastically invite the Straw Hat Crew to meet his ever elusive brother, and no one was going to miss the chance to finally meet him.

They hadn't created many ideas as to what kind of person Sabo was. Most of them had been under the firm and forceful opinion that he would be just like his brothers: wild, carefree, completely unable to follow any set rules, a messy eater who devoured anything and everything inside… they hadn't exactly created the kindest persona in their heads about Sabo (nor, apparently, the D. Brothers). Robin however had disagreed with this train of thought, and had proposed the idea that he might be their complete opposite.

_"Come on Robin," Nami had laughed, "the only person who would be able to understand Ace-kun and Luffy would be someone with the same mindset as them!"_

_"And what about Makino-san?" Robin had gently suggested. Nami thought about it for a second, but decidedly shook her head._

_"Doesn't count. Makino-san looked after them, but she didn't actually **live** with them." Robin had given in with a gentle inclination of her head, but there had been a knowing look on her face, a look that had made Franky glance at her with suspicion._

_"You know something, don't you?" He had asked, but it was in a resigned manner. It was just one of those things that held the world together. Nami loved money, Brook was dead but still alive, Ace and Luffy were brothers in every way possible and Robin knew everything. You didn't contest these rules of the universe unless you wished for life to end on Earth as you knew it. Robin had smiled at him, but said nothing, and that was the end of that._

Looking at Sabo now though -Luffy had jumped off of him and was happily snuggling his face into his brother's chest while Ace hooked an arm around Sabo's neck and was laughing at something- immediately they could tell their assumptions were way off. Even with Luffy currently doing his best to strangle Sabo at the waist, everything about Sabo screamed, well, class. Who wore a tophat in this day and age? And in this weather as well!? It was boiling outside, and Ace had jumped at the chance to strip his uniform down to the basics -there had been many side glances and double takes from people at the sight of Ace's well-formed muscles, and judging from the way the freckled teenager had occasionally been glancing around with a smirk, he knew of the reactions he was creating-, but Sabo was suited up in a very formal, upper-class manner. Nami was envious at the blatant display of wealth and power. How the hell was this guy Luffy's brother!?

Ah, it seemed that Sabo had finally spotted the motley group just standing there and watching, and had gently pushed Luffy's shoulder and jerked his head over at them -although jerked might not be the best word, the action itself had been just far too graceful-. Luffy brightened up even further, if possible, before dragging Sabo over to finally give a formal introduction between friends and sibling, with Ace walking a little bit behind, face obviously amused at the gobsmacked looks on their faces.

"Guys, this is Sabo, _meu irmão,_ just like Ace! Sabo, these are my friends Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky and Brook!" Sabo gave them a friendly nod, blue eyes sparkling in obvious delight at meeting his brother's treasured friends.

Blue…eyes…

And that's when it clicked. The biggest difference was one that none of them had even begun to ponder. It never crossed their minds that it might be an option, not even once. Sabo was… Sabo was…

"…he's blond."

"…yeah, I wasn't expecting him to be so…blond."

"Not that there's anything… _wrong_, with him being blond…?"

"I can think of a couple of things."

"Wanna say that again you fucker?"

"Wow Sabo," chirped Chopper in amazement, "you're really white!"

"HE SAID IT!" Screamed the Straw Hats, Robin giggling off to the side, "HE ACTUALLY SAID IT!"

It seemed Sabo had been expecting this reaction however, as he merely gave them an wink and an indulgent smile.

"I see that Luffy hadn't gone around to actually describing me to you guys before. That's alright, it's always funny to watch the reactions of others when they meet me."

He…He sounded like Tuxedo Mask. He sounded exactly like Tuxedo Mask. Oh god, this man was perfect. While Nami swooned over his voice, Sanji decided to bring up another point, trying to ignore his feelings of jealously long enough to hold a rational conversation with the blond, and he doubted that yelling at the man for seducing his Nami-swan was going to make Luffy very happy. At least Robin didn't seem affected. She was still giggling slightly, watching them all with an amused look.

"But if you're white, does that mean that you're not actually related to Ace and Luffy?" he asked, before wincing. There was probably a more tactful way of bringing up a potentially sensitive topic up, and from the snort he heard behind him -definitely from Zoro, that arsehole- the others knew it. Luckily none of the brothers seemed upset by the question, if anything they seemed confused.

"Well, no I'm not related to Luffy and Ace, but they're not related to each other by blood either. Didn't you know that?"

Come again?

"What do you mean by that, Sabo-san?" asked Brook, heart pounding. _And he didn't even have a heart._ Sabo gave Luffy an amused, if slightly exasperated look to Luffy.

"Really Luffy, you didn't tell them even once?" Luffy shrugged his shoulders uncaringly.

"I never saw the point, it doesn't matter. Besides guys, we have different last names. Wasn't it obvious?" That was directed back at the Straw Hats who jerked in unison.

_'No, it wasn't obvious at all!' _But it was clear that Luffy didn't care anymore for that particular topic, and had gone back to hiding his face in Sabo's chest, apparently trying to dig open the chest cavity via nose rubs. It was a cute, if slightly creepy sight. Seeing both his brothers were rather preoccupied with each other at that moment, Ace decided to step up and talk to the poor friends of his little brother. They looked rather out of the loop.

"Don't worry, none of us think badly of you. It's true that Lu and I look really similar to each other, no one ever expects us to be anything but blood related. Truthfully though, I met Lu after Garp took me in when my mum died. Dad had already been long dead at that point, and Garp had been a close enemy of Dad. Lu and I hadn't been all that close at first, but over time we grew closer, and with Sabo we became an inseperateable trio. Sabo is always asked that question, but Luffy and I are always assumed to be related by blood. We've gotten used to the question over time," Ace explained with a smirk. Luffy let out a little "Nishishi!" at that.

_'Only because Grandpa told you that beating up everyone who asks that question was going to take forever!'_

Usopp paused, eyebrows furrowed over something Ace had said.

"Ace, don't you mean that Garp had been a close friend of Dad?" he asked in confusion. Ace looked more confused.

"No?"

"…okay."

Franky looked horrified. One of the universal truths of the world had turned out to be a not so true truth after all! That wasn't very super, he decided. What about the other un- wait. Speaking of other universal truths, Franky gave Robin an accusing look.

"You knew, didn't you?" She gave him a smile that was tinged with slight smugness.

"That's right, I did know. I've met Sabo before however, so there is a possibility I have acquired more information about him then the rest of us," she said, amusement levels just as high as they had been when Sabo had finally met the rest of her friends. They always had the most interesting reactions.

"Still," she said, turning to Sabo, "I'm surprised Dragon-san is giving you this time off. He usually has you working quite hard, after all. Being the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army is quite the tiring position."

Robin couldn't have said it in a more blunt way. The Straw Hats gaped.

_'Second-In-Command?!'_

_'Revolutionary Army!?'_

_'Dragon-san!? Wait, isn't that…!?'_

"Luffy, your dad's name is Dragon, isn't it?" asked Zoro urgently, eye wide in shock. Luffy laughed again and nodded. Zoro's jaw dropped even further, and Nami looked close to fainting at the new revelations. Sabo sighed and shook his head.

"Way to let the cat out of the bag, Robin." Robin apologised to him, but it was clear she was enjoying the mayhem she was creating far too much to have any real sincerity in her tone. Sanji needed a smoke, and badly at that.

"Did you guys really not know that Ace and I weren't related like that though?" asked Luffy in curiosity. "He speaks Spanish, and I speak Portuguese! I thought it would have been obvious!"

_'How is that obvious in any way, shape or form, dumbass!?_

"Oh my! All this added stress is going to make my hair fall out, yohohoho! _**And I can't allow that to happen at any costs.**_" Sabo was surprised at the sudden change of tone in the skeleton's voice -he still couldn't believe there was a sketelon at all, but whatever- and glanced at Ace for details.

Ace shrugged. He was just as confused as Sabo was when it came to Brook. Luffy however was happy to share the goss.

"Brook met this whale named Laboon at an aquarium and promised to go back and visit but he died and now his hair is the only way that Laboon would be able to recognise him but it's been fifty years and Brook still hasn't had the chance to visit him. It's really sad," said Luffy, and from his expression it was clear that Luffy really thought it was a sad tale. Ace and Sabo were more deadpan though.

"…why doesn't he just buy another ticket then?" Luffy gave them a look.

"Are you an idiot Ace?" Ace twitched. "Skeletons can't buy tickets, duh."

_'THAT'S THE PROBLEM?! WAIT WAIT WAIT, THE SKELETON'S ACTUALLY DEAD?! HOW IS IT STILL WALKING AND TALKING THEN!?'_ The Straw Hats weren't the only ones getting confused.

Nami decided to bring the conversation around to an easier topic.

"So, Sabo-kun. We know how Ace and Luffy met, which only took around ten years to learn," the last part was added in a whisper, it was clear Nami was still a bit in shock at the revelation that not only were Ace and Luffy not related, but their oft-talked about brother was _f__ucking white and part of the revolutionary army, and the SECOND-IN-COMMAND, AND THE COMMANDER** WAS LUFFY'S FUCKING FATHER,**_ "but how did you end up meeting Ace and Luffy? I've no doubt it's really cute and heartwarming!" Sabo's lips twisted into a slightly bemused smirk.

"I met Ace when I was five, he was beating the shit out of some nobles that had tried to stop him from robbing them. I had just ran away from my own noble family and I decided to help beat the nobles, and eventually, hide the bodies. Ace was impressed with my level of expertise in body-hiding, and we began to work together, meeting without Garp knowing. When I was ten, I met Luffy after a month of Ace trying to murder him because Ace thought he was an annoying little fucker, and we accepted Luffy into our group after he was nearly tortured to death protecting our secrets."

"In fact, it was Luffy that really made us all into a happy little family. He was the one who let Garp take me in as well as his own grandson, just like he did with Ace before me, and we decided to become brothers after sharing some sake. We overestimated the amount of sake we were supposed to drink though, got smashed and had to be rushed to hospital due to alcohol poisoning, because we were ten and seven years old and had no idea how to hold our liquor. Garp got brought up on abuse charges, but that eventually fell through because the judge and juries fell through several windows. Of course, that's another story. The point is that now, we're all here together, and we've all never been happier."

Ace, Sabo and Luffy smiled at each other, before coming together in one big group hug -Luffy hadn't actually let go of Sabo-. Ace smiled over at them.

"So, your questions answered yet?"

The Straw Hats gaped again.

_'Are you kidding? That just gave us even more questions…!'_


End file.
